Suburban moms selling marijuana is no longer just the plotline of the Showtime series “Weeds”. It’s a growing reality.

Women are increasingly entering the marijuana market as business owners and customers, as the legal obstacles are gradually cleared and retail spaces grow in number.

Women Grow, a Denver-based industry network for women in the cannabis market, estimates that about 20% of marijuana business owners in the U.S. are female. (Women-owned companies comprise about 30% of all U.S. businesses, but as the majority are nonprofit, they account for just 4% of overall business revenue, according to a 2014 report by the National Association of Women Business Owners.)

In Colorado, the proportion of women in the medical marijuana patient population has grown to 35% in 2015 from 28.5% in 2009, a trend Cassandra Farrington, chief executive of Marijuana Business Daily, says extends nationwide.

A strong majority of likely 2015 voters in Denver support a proposed city initiative that would allow the limited social use of marijuana in commercial establishments that choose to allow it, according to a Public Policy Polling survey released Thursday.

Fifty-six percent said they support the measure, which would allow the use — but not sale — of cannabis in areas restricted to individuals 21 years of age and older. Just 40% said they are opposed.

“Denver voters have repeatedly voted in favor of treating marijuana similarly to alcohol,” said initiative proponent Mason Tvert, who co-directed the 2012 Amendment 64 campaign in Colorado. “For the same reasons many adults enjoy having a drink in a social setting, many adults would enjoy using cannabis.

“Adults visiting Denver who can legally purchase cannabis need somewhere to go to consume it,” Tvert said. “The goal here is to reduce the likelihood of marijuana being used on the street and in other public areas.”

Under the proposed measure, businesses that have a license to sell alcohol for onsite consumption would be able to decide whether to allow cannabis consumption on the premises. Businesses that choose to allow only cannabis consumption (without licensed alcohol consumption) would be subject to regulation by the city, including restrictions on location and hours of operation. All commercial establishments that allow adults to use marijuana would be required to comply with the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act.

A new bill introduced into the U.S. Senate aims to offer protection for financial institutions that want to conduct business with marijuana dispensaries.

Since marijuana is still a Schedule I drug, banks have been incredibly reluctant to enter into business relations for fear of running afoul of federal regulators and laws concerning money laundering, Marijuana.com reports.

Support for marijuana continues to build in Congress. Four states and the District of Columbia have legalized the drug, and this legislation, backed by the Senate delegations from Oregon and Washington, would prohibit regulators from cracking down on banks in the form of terminated FDIC insurance, asset seizure and prosecution for money laundering. The Marijuana Businesses Access to Banking Act also prevents prosecutors from joining into the fray, so long as industry complies with state law.